Bernstein conducts Brahms: Symphony No. 4 & Tragic Overture

For the Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick, Brahms's fourth and final symphony was like looking into a well at midnight – the darker it grew, the more brilliantly the stars were reflected back. There was certainly no shortage of star power when Leonard Bernstein conducted the Fourth with the Wiener Philharmoniker in 1981: one of the world's most charismatic conductors meeting an orchestra drenched in Brahmsian tradition. By this point, Bernstein and the Viennese orchestra had been regular collaborators for nearly two decades. They inspired each other, and the result is a performance that blazes with insight, ardour and true symphonic power.